YLC Announces 2018 Board of Directors

We are excited to introduce YLC's 2018 Board of Directors, confirmed at our Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 26, 2017!

NEW ORLEANS, LA – At their Annual Meeting & Project Fair on October 26, 2017, members of the Young Leadership Council (YLC) formally voted to approve the proposed slate of 2018 YLC Board Candidates. YLC is proud to announce the 25 individuals who will serve as the 2018 YLC Board of Directors, who will work together to support YLC’s mission of developing young professional leadership through community projects.

The 2018 Executive Committee will be led by incoming president Jack Wiles of LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors. Jermaine L. Smith of Tulane University will serve as Past President and Chair of the Nominations Committee, and Aimee McCarron of Prudential Advisors will serve as President-Elect.

“I am delighted to have the honor of serving as President of the YLC Board in 2018,” said Wiles. “Even more so, I’m looking forward to working with a group of uniquely qualified individuals who willingly lend their countless time and energy to the YLC in support of projects that work toward the betterment of the New Orleans community.”

Three committee chairs will return to the Executive Committee for a second year. Margaux Krane of the New Orleans Museum of Art will once again serve as the VP of Communications and Communications Committee Chair, Amanda Menniti of Entergy will return as VP of Finance and Finance Committee Chair, and Joe Wilson of Liskow & Lewis will serve as Secretary/General Counsel and Personnel Committee Chair for his second year.

Veteran board member Charlie Fenton of Hancock Whitney Bank will serve on the Executive Committee as the VP of Development and Development Committee Chair. Danielle Boveland of the Louisiana State Bar Association, who is moving into her second term on the board, will serve as VP of Projects and Projects Committee Chair. New to the board and Executive Committee is Brittany Whitsell of Hancock Whitney Bank, a long-time volunteer with the organization, who will serve as VP of Membership and Membership Committee Chair.

The YLC welcomes six new board members in 2018, who have all contributed many hours towards leading YLC projects or volunteering for the organization. Of the six selected General Board members, two have served as former or current Project Leaders. All new board members have been active committee members for two or more years, and all have volunteered a minimum of 15 hours with the organization since June of 2016. New board members include Bryanna Frazier of Chaffe McCall, LLP; Caroline Hayes of AOS – Interior Environments; Danielle Martin of the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation; Stephen Sewell of Petro-Marine Underwriters, Inc.; Brittany Whitsell of Hancock Whitney Bank; and Yelena Zaitseva McCloskey of IBERIABANK.

Returning as General Board members for another term are James Baehr of US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District; Vicki Bristol of the New Orleans Convention and Business Bureau; Carolyn S. Buckley of King, Krebs, and Jurgens, PLLC; Kevin Ferguson of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans; Samantha Hawkins of Ochsner Health System; Jennifer Jeandron of Advantage Capital Partners and YLC’s 2017 VP of Development and Development Committee Chair; Sean Landry of Zlien; Caleb Roberts of Tulane University; Maisha Robinson of Shell International E&P and YLC’s 2017 VP of Projects and Projects Committee Chair; Gerard Schmitz of Scariano Brothers, LLC; and Garlan White of Bellingrath Wealth.

Concluding their service to the board in 2017 are Calais Hurst-Waring of Media Point, LLC, 2017 Past President and Nominations Committee Chair; McKensie Kirchner of NOLA Tribe Yoga; Lindsey B. Jakiel Diulus of Nunez Community College; Joy Okoro of Teach for America; Stephen Coburn of Hancock Whitney Bank; and Allen Smith of Republic Business Credit, LLC and YLC’s 2017 VP of Membership and Membership Committee Chair.

Young Leadership Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization created to develop leadership through community projects. Through volunteer-created community projects, YLC recruits and retains young professionals to New Orleans, creating a positive impact on the quality of life in the region. The oldest, independent YPO (young professionals’ organization) in the country, YLC has raised more than $25 million to support community projects in and around the Greater New Orleans area since 1986.